A few days ago I
posted that I was running for City Council in Huntington Beach California.
Last night I stood up to speak about an important issue that will be facing our voters in November.
There's a proposal in our community to build a new senior center in our Central Park.
The backers of the new senior center want the proposal to be on the ballot in Novemeber, and asked the city council to make an exception to the rules requiring that all city approvals are met before a measure can be submitted to the people.
In 1990, our city voters passed Measure C, the Parks and Beach Preservation Initiative with 75% of the vote a measure that gives Huntington Beach citizens the right to vote on proposed projects on their beaches or in their parks.
So the backers of the senior center are attempting an end run around the rules in order to get this thing on the ballot.
Here's what I had to say during public comments:
"Honorable City Councilmembers, Ladies & Gentlemen,
My name is Joe Shaw. I am a Huntington Beach resident and a downtown business owner.
Huntington Beach residents have made it perfectly clear, time and again that their park spaces and beaches are to be protected as open space and off limits to development.
Both Measure C and the Bolsa Chica Lowlands Restorarion Project are a testimony to the commitment of Huntington Beach residents to protect and preserve our open space. That commitment is one of the things that makes Huntington Beach such a great palce to live.
We need a new improved senior center but we don't need a senior center in Central Park. It's imprtant to remember that no one here opposes a new senior center.
The debate over a senior center in Central Park is a false choice. We can have a new senior center and we can preserve our open space for future generations.
The problem here seems to be that we are not talking to one another. Whether its city and downtown merchants or seniors, the city and environmentalists, the fact is we need to be working together to find mutual solutions to these problems instead of butting heads.
Our city's residents, neighborhoods and our businesses should be given more of a voice in city decisions. Whether its closing Main Street, development of open space, location of a senior center or building a desal plant, community groups need to be listened to and need to work more closely together.
We need to have a program in place so that we could have had neighborhood groups, open space advocates and proponents of the senior center sit down with city staff in order to come up with a mutually agreeable solution, so that we don't have these polarizing debates about false choices."
The Republican majority voted 5-2 to put the measure on the ballot, setting up an unnecessary showdown in November between seniors (who vote in droves) and open space advocates, who will be pretty motivated too.
This will be an excellent opportunity to add one or more progressive advocates of keeping our city's open spaces protected.
I have been a member of the DailyKos community for several years, and I could use some support to add my progressive voice to our city council.
I know many kossacks are concentrating on creating a Democratic majority in Congress, and rightly so.
But it is equally important to support progressives that have a very real chance to be elected in a solidly Red area like Orange County.
A recent survey by Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates of Orange County voters shows that while we live in a solidly conservative area, 79 percent of Orange County voters believe that the "current rate of development is too rapid and has a variety of negative impacts on the local quality of life." The survey also found that 84 perent of voters here believe that the "presence of nearby open space improves property values" and 78 percent indicate "a belief that the county's open space and natural beauty have broader economic benefits."
I have a plan to win and I can win but of course it always comes down to money. If you'd like to help us protect and preserve open space in Orange County, please consider supporting my campaign with a donation.
On July 17th, I will need to pay $2200 for my ballot statement. Will you help me reach that goal?
I am beginning to see a groundswell of support for my pro-business, pro-environment campaign. It plays to voters across the spectrum. I want to give neighborhoods, residents and businesses more say in the policies that affect them, while reforming our city's permit process, building code and over zealous enforcement.
Thanks in advance for your support. Please contact me at joe@joeshawforHb.com with any questions, suggestions or ideas, or if you want to volunteer to help us.